ah, one must remember, quilt maker's of the day did not have time to waste sitting at the computer, or in front of the TV..their quiet time was spent doing what most now consider meaningless, boring, time consuming work...I can remember when I learned how to quilt I used card board templates and pencil. I was taught to starch the fabric then trace templates and then cut out..sometimes "cutting bees" were held just for this purpose!
It was just as fun then as a sewing bee is now!